Education on mental illnesses key to relief

Getting a chronic illness diagnosis can be devastating. It could mean getting into a certain type of medication for a long time, even for life. The medications could come with major side-effects. It could also mean changing a lifestyle to ensure symptoms are well managed, which could deprive a person of what they enjoy doing.

'HEADS UP'

For mental illnesses, most patients are excited to receive their diagnosis; they find relief in the symptoms and discover ways to cope effectively.

For a long time, I could not stand being in a crowded place, some smells or sounds, an enclosed place such as a lift or even a place that was overheated or not well ventilated. On some days, colour red would be too alarming, sending me into a panic. When I understood that I had an anxiety disorder, I was excited and free; it is as if I had received a ticket to live free of such an anxiety-related life!

Many people utter the phrase “depression is real” when they hear of a suicidal individual or a person who died by suicide, but what does this even mean? Are all mental illnesses depression? Could some patients suffer from other forms of mental illness?

Over the weekend, the third round kick-off times of the FA Cup tournament, in the United Kingdom, were delayed by one minute for the ‘Heads Up’ mental health campaign. The campaign is fronted by Prince William with the hope of ensuring fans take a minute to think about their mental health. 

SYMPTOMS

I took the test to gauge its effectiveness. After the test, I was led to videos that would help me take care of my mental health and a toll free number in case I needed to talk to someone. The issue was, how effective was this, and is ‘mental health’ a type of illness?

Just like physical illnesses such as cancer, malaria or even diabetes, mental illnesses do not have the same symptoms. There are a variety of illnesses that must get a proper diagnosis from a mental health practitioner or psychiatrist to ease the symptoms.

Mental health practitioners use The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, among other documents. DSM is a publication for the classification of mental disorders using a common language and standard criteria. The latest edition is the DSM5, published in 2013. This document can be found online and in bookshops and libraries.

DEPRESSIVE

The DSM has been known as the ‘psychiatrist’s bible’ for many years. Besides being helpful in the diagnosis of mental illnesses, it is also used to determine a disability and an insurance benefit. It is a staple in court proceedings and the availability of special education.

The DSM5 classifies mental illnesses into several disorders, all of which have different symptoms and most of them can be managed through medication, psychotherapy, self-management, social support and most importantly education.

For some disorders, comorbid, for instance, a person living with ADHD may also struggle with a certain type of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder. This means that it is important for the patient and caregiver to understand the type of disorder that they live with in order to manage it well.

GENERALISING

There is a need to educate ourselves further on what type of mental illnesses there are and their symptoms rather than generalising all mental illnesses and calling them "depression" or “mental health”.

Ms Victoria is a healthcare communications consultant. [email protected].